Where There's Smoke, There's Fire
by Lady Arreya
Summary: Inspired by "Smoke and Mirrors" by Kezhke. Fictober 2018 prompt #9: "You shouldn't have come here." P/T.


Title: Where There's Smoke, There's Fire  
Rating: T  
Summary: Inspired by "Smoke and Mirrors" by Kezhke. Fictober 2018 prompt #9: "You shouldn't have come here." P/T.

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Author's note: This story is about Mirror Universe Tom and Prime Universe B'Elanna. Inspired by "Smoke and Mirrors" by Kezhke. The premise is that B'Elanna and Harry are trapped in the Mirror Universe. If you don't feel like reading all of "Smoke and Mirrors," at least read Chapter 10.

fanfiction -dot- net/s/6112949/1/Smoke-and-Mirrors

This story is in a slightly different time period, before "Day of Honor" but after "Blood Fever."

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She found him lurking stealthily in the shadows.

"Tom? What are you doing here?" she whispered.

They both looked up as they heard footsteps around the corner.

Alarmed, she hurried him down the corridor and into her chambers.

"You shouldn't have come here," she admonished once the doors had safely closed behind them.

He looked determined. "I wanted to see you."

"It's too risky for you to sneak out. The Andorian could have caught you."

"I'm not afraid of him. He only has one antenna," Tom said defiantly.

Inwardly she cringed, hoping he'd never hear that she'd been responsible for that particular brutality. If he did, he'd be terrified of her all over again.

"You should have waited for me to come to your room," B'Elanna countered.

"I wasn't sure you were going to. And I need to talk to you."

"All right," she said with a sigh. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"You said in your universe, we're close. Just how close are we?"

"In my universe, you're one of my closest friends," she said truthfully. "We spend a lot of time together."

"What's he like?"

She hesitated, unsure as to how much she should reveal. She probably shouldn't have told him as much as she already had, but he was the only person from this universe this she could actually trust.

"The Harry from your universe said that Tom is his best friend, and the most fearless person he knows. Sometimes just out of recklessness. Is that true?"

"Yeah," she said with a small laugh. "He's very adventurous and daring, and sometimes he forgets just how much danger he's in."

"He's brave, then. Not a coward like me."

"You're not a coward, Tom. You learned to be cautious to survive."

He looked unconvinced.

"Courage doesn't mean you don't have fear," she said softly. "It means you've learned to overcome it. He told me that once."

"I know I shouldn't compare myself to him, but I can't help it."

"He hasn't lived through what you have."

"I have to know, B'Elanna," he said abruptly. "Do you kiss him the way you kissed me?"

She tensed. "No. We're not _that_ close."

"Then why did you kiss me? Were you imagining him when you kissed me?"

"I… I don't know," she said at last, feeling even more confused.

This Tom met so many of her needs in ways she hadn't even realized were missing.

He was sensitive, and she couldn't help but be attracted to his gentleness. It was so easy to confide in him. She felt so safe emotionally when she was with him, in a way she'd never felt with his counterpart. He was a calming influence on her, unlike the Tom from her universe.

Was it possible that she loved them both at the same time? For different reasons, in different ways?

"You want to be with him but you're afraid that he'll hurt you. Is that it?" he guessed.

"Something like that," she admitted.

She'd been hurt too many times before, and risking a relationship with him was like standing at the edge of an abyss. She was afraid that if she jumped in, she'd be destroyed.

But it was so much simpler with the man in front of her. He didn't antagonize her, and she never felt the need to push him away.

"I would never hurt you that way, B'Elanna," he said resolutely.

"I know," she said softly.

Of course he couldn't. In this universe, he was her prisoner. Her slave. He had no power over her. He couldn't leave her even if he wanted to.

She didn't want it to be like that between them, but she had no control over their circumstances.

All she could do was try to protect him.

Emboldened, he slid his arm around her and pulled her closer.

She felt all rational thought escaping her mind when his lips touched hers.

She'd dreamt of this for so long…

_This isn't him_, a little voice in the back of her mind whispered accusingly.

But as the taste and scent of him filled her senses, her body couldn't seem to distinguish the difference.

He smelled like Tom. He tasted like him. He kissed like him.

She hadn't been completely honest with him. She had kissed his counterpart before, after all. But only in the caves of Sakari.

And that didn't count.

Did it?

They'd made no promises to each other. There was no betrayal happening here.

So why did she feel like it had?

She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't stop. She couldn't even blame it on the bloodwine this time.

"I love you, B'Elanna."

As he said the words she'd longed to hear for so long, all her defenses crumbled.

He had the courage to share his true feelings, which the Tom in her universe wasn't brave enough to do.

Or didn't feel.

He kissed her again with such sweetness, and she was lost.

It was more than she could resist, being chosen by the man she loved.

"I love you too, Tom," she whispered back.

The End

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Author's endnote: My original story idea continued with B'Elanna having a relationship with Mirror Tom and unknowingly becoming pregnant with his child. Mirror Tom dies, as he did in "Smoke and Mirrors," and B'Elanna and Harry return to the Prime Universe, causing major angst for B'Elanna and Tom when they find out she's pregnant. I doubt I'll ever actually write this part, so if anyone else would like to, please feel free!


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